


The Attachment of the Sisters

by KellyLiz



Category: Lizzie Bennet Diaries
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-08
Updated: 2013-08-08
Packaged: 2017-12-22 18:36:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/916633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KellyLiz/pseuds/KellyLiz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After episode 82 posted, Gigi invites Lizzie over for some bonding.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Attachment of the Sisters

**Author's Note:**

> The title is taken from Pride and Prejudice, chapter 61: "Pemberley was now Georgiana's home; and the attachment of the sisters was exactly what Darcy had hoped to see. They were able to love each other, even as well as they intended."

Gigi knocked on Lizzie’s office door. “Hey Lizzie,” she said. “Are you busy tonight? William is going out with Fitz and I thought you and I could hang out.”

Lizzie looked up at Gigi, who was looked a little tense and antsy. It was no surprise, Lizzie had posted Gigi’s video describing her relationship with George Wickham today. Perhaps Gigi did not want to be alone tonight. “Sure!” she said enthusiastically. “Anything special you’d like to do?”

“No, just girl stuff. I thought we could order in pizza and talk, or anything you want to do.”

“Works for me,” Lizzie grinned. “I’ll meet you at your office at 5.”

 

Gigi opened the door to their condominium and Lizzie stepped in. It felt almost illicit to be entering Darcy’s home without him there. She reminded herself that it is Gigi’s home also. Gigi hung up Lizzie’s coat and walked into the living area, Lizzie following. Lizzie was stunned. She knew Darcy was rich but seeing this place reminded her just how wealthy he was. It was beautiful and tasteful and everything she could have imagined if she somehow won the lottery and money became no object. She stared out at the view of San Francisco and the Bay through the huge windows. The sun set early this time of year, and lights were already twinkling below them, lending even more of a fairy-tale quality to the atmosphere.

“I’m already starving,” Gigi said as she headed towards the kitchen. “What do you want on your pizza? There’s a great place nearby that delivers that has a specialty vegetarian pizza to die for, if you’re interested.”

“That sounds perfect,” Lizzie almost gasped when she entered the kitchen. It was huge with craftsman style, white cabinets, Italian Carrara marble on the countertops and dark polished wood floors. There was a large island with stools on one side and a prep area on the other. The refrigerator and dishwasher were built in to look like cabinets, and the gas stove looked like one any chef would dream about. Large windows framed the same gorgeous view of the city spread out below them.

Gigi ordered the pizza and hung up her cell phone. “Kate, in Accounting, has a birthday tomorrow, and I volunteered to bake her cake. Would you like to help me make it? Wait—do you bake?” Gigi suddenly remembered Lizzie telling Fitz she didn’t bake when they were assembling Jane’s care package. Having watched Lizzie’s videos felt tricky sometimes. Gigi felt she knew more personal things about Lizzie than she should.

“I normally don’t bake, but I know how.” Lizzie laughed. “My mom made sure all her daughters could handle the basics in the kitchen. How else can I expect to capture a husband?”

“I’ll assume that’s a rhetorical question.” Gigi grinned and started assembling ingredients. ”Kate told me she wants red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting. I always make extra to have some cupcakes for us too.” 

Lizzie and Gigi chatted while preparing the cake batter. The pizza arrived before they had finished, and they shoved the cake pans and cupcake tin in the oven and left the dirty dishes in the sink for later. “Ummm,” Lizzie moaned when she took her first bite of pizza. “This is fantastic.”

Gigi nodded. “It’s William’s favorite too. Oh, you probably already know that.”

Lizzie shook her head. “How would I know that?”

“You must have spent a lot of time together at Netherfield. He likes to compare other pizza places to his favorite.”

“We were in the same house for a month,” Lizzie agreed. “But your brother rarely volunteered any personal information, even about his favorite foods. We mostly just argued, er, debated about different things.”

“Oh,” Gigi looked surprised. “He was so taken with you. I just assumed you two talked a lot.”

“He was often in his room, or working on his laptop.” Lizzie shook her head. “He never seemed very happy to see me.”

“Are you kidding?” Gigi asked. “Of course he was happy to see you. Didn’t you ever wonder how William was able to spend so much time away from work last summer when he was at Netherfield? He was there on and off for weeks before and after your visit.”

“To tell you the truth, I didn’t really understand what he did back then,” Lizzie admitted. “I just thought he was on vacation and was telecommuting.”

“He did spend some vacation time,” Gigi nodded. “But his original plans were to be away from Pemberley several weeks less than he was. He was able to telecommute and he flew out when he had meetings that could not be missed. But it’s really difficult for him to telecommute for a long time with his responsibilities. He had to work very hard to be able to stay at Netherfield so long.”

“Surely that didn’t have anything to do with me,” Lizzie protested.

Gigi just looked at her with a slight smile and raised eyebrows. She was too much like her brother sometimes.

Lizzie looked down as she ran her fingers along the edge of the island. Now that she had worked with Darcy at Pemberley, she couldn’t imagine him being out of the office for so many weeks at a time with only periodic returns for meetings. She met Gigi’s eyes again, a question in her own.

“I know he was fighting his feelings for you then, but I’m pretty sure he had a really hard time dragging himself away from you. Even when he was back at Pemberley, after you and Jane had left, he kept flying back to Netherfield until after Bing’s birthday party when they all left for good.” Gigi smirked at Lizzie. “He’s been crazy about you for a long time, Lizzie.”

Lizzie frowned as she looked away. Of course she knew when Darcy admitted that he loved her in October that his feelings for her had deepened while they were at Netherfield. She had never before considered that he might have adjusted his work schedule to be around her longer.

 

Lizzie and Gigi went into the living room once they’d finished dinner and the cupcakes and cake were out of the oven. “Let’s watch a Disney movie!” Gigi suggested. 

“Which Disney heroine did you want to be when you were little?” Lizzie asked.

“Jasmine. I had little light green pajamas and a headband that looked like her outfit. I insisted on wearing the headband to bed and usually woke up with a mark on my forehead from the plastic jewel in the middle.” She cocked her head and looked at Lizzie’s hair. “Did you want to be Ariel?”

“No, Jane was older and she got to be Ariel. I wanted to be Belle, and since I loved books, she fit my personality better anyway.” Lizzie grinned. “And Lydia wanted to be Jasmine also. She loved how exotic she was. Our first cat was named Rajah after Jasmine’s tiger.” Lizzie felt a pang of longing for Lydia. She had never gone this long without talking to her.

“Who was Charlotte?” Gigi asked with a knowing grin.

Lizzie shook her head. “She refused to be Mulan. She said she would not be forced to be the klutzy girl just because she was Asian. She liked Pocahontas who was wise, powerful and strong.”

“I would have loved to have sisters close to my age. William is an amazing brother, but he was so much older than me. He wouldn’t play Barbies with me, or dress like a Disney character.” 

“That’s too bad. I would pay all the money I have, which admittedly is not much, to see a photo of Darcy dressed like Aladdin.” Lizzie laughed. She wouldn’t admit the thought of Darcy bare chested in that outfit made her pulse race. “I’m really lucky. Jane, Lydia and I played together all the time. Of course, we had plenty of tears and fights too. I had a two-foot tall Belle doll wearing her yellow ballroom gown that I treasured. She was more to look at than to play with. I always kept her on top of my dresser, so I could see her right when I woke up. When Lydia got mad at me, she would bend down Belle’s fingers so that she was holding up just her middle finger. It was a freaky juxtaposition, Belle’s sweet, painted-on smile with her hand flipping me off.”

Gigi giggled helplessly. “I really want to meet your sisters someday.”

Lizzie smiled at her. “They’d like you. So would my parents.” Gigi looked away, so that Lizzie could not see her eyes. Lizzie reached out and touched Gigi’s hand. “I’m sorry you lost your parents so young. I can’t even imagine what that must have been like.”

“When my parents died,” Gigi stopped and took a breath, but her eyes stayed dry. “the shock was awful. But even worse than the shock came later. When everyone else went back to their normal lives. You’re left with —this hollow, empty feeling inside of you because you know the people who loved you more than anyone in the world, are gone. Although there will be other special people in your life, your mom and dad are your first loves, your rock, your support, just so big a part of your life and they can never be replaced.”

While Gigi’s eyes were still dry, Lizzie felt tears start to snake down her cheeks. “William was not just a brother. He became my lifeline. I clung to him, I needed him for everything for such a long time. And he was always there.” Gigi’s looked directly at Lizzie, but now her eyes were unseeing, looking through her. “You know, it wasn’t until recently that I realized how hard it must have been for him. I mean, to take care of me. I knew he lost his parents too, but he was older and stronger. But I was just a kid and I didn’t think how difficult it was for him to suddenly have this depressed little orphaned sister to take care of as well as dealing with his own loss.”

Lizzie nodded. “But don’t you think that helped him too? Having you to take care of was a blessing as well as a responsibility. He wasn’t alone because he had you.”

“I guess,” Gigi’s eyes started to fill now. “I just wish he could have had someone to be there to look out for him too. The way he looked out for me.”

Lizzie leaned over and put her arms around Gigi. The tears that had slowly spilled out came faster now wetting Lizzie’s cheeks, and she felt Gigi trembling in her embrace. “I cried myself to sleep every night for over a year.” Gigi mumbled against Lizzie’s shoulder. “I doubt William even allowed himself to do that. So, you can understand why I’d do anything for him.”

Lizzie sniffed as she rubbed Gigi’s back. “He would do anything for you too.” The thought of a barely adult Darcy shouldering the responsibility of parenting his sister alone while managing his own grief made it hard for her to swallow.

Gigi hugged Lizzie tighter. “I know. Sometimes I dream about my parents. I wake up and I’m so happy I got to see my mom’s smile or hear my dad’s voice saying my name. It’s scary, you don’t realize how much of the little things you forget, even though you try as hard as possible to hold on to everything. I can’t even remember details of my mom’s face anymore. But when I dream about them, I realize all those special features are still in my head. And then William makes an expression or says something that reminds me of mom or dad. I know they still live on in our hearts.”

“Now I’ve made you cry. What kind of hostess am I?” Gigi pulled away and handed Lizzie a tissue and grabbed another to wipe her own eyes.

Lizzie managed a broken laugh, which sounded suspiciously like a sob. “Thank you for sharing with me, Gigi.”

“Thank you for listening.” Gigi gave Lizzie a tremulous smile that made Lizzie’s heart ache. She could see the scared little girl still inside the beautiful, normally confident-sounding young woman.

“I vote we watch’ Aladdin’,” Lizzie said. “Do you like to sing along with all the songs?”

“Yes!” Gigi huffed. After several songs into the movie, she looked at Lizzie admiringly. “You really don’t forget anything, do you? You haven’t missed a word yet.”

“Sometimes I forget to not judge people too quickly.” Lizzie observed bleakly. Gigi just smiled at her understandingly and they turned back to the movie.

 

“Ready to make the frosting?” Gigi jumped up from the couch after the movie had ended and held her hand out to hoist Lizzie up.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Lizzie grabbed Gigi’s hand and found herself immediately yanked to her feet. “You are ridiculously strong, Gigi.”

Gigi flexed her bicep. “Coach Ansley has upped my weight-lifting regimen. Pretty soon, I’ll be able to beat Fitz at arm-wrestling.” She laughed. “Well, that’s my lofty, pretty much unattainable, goal anyway. When I was a teenager, Fitz used to run with me and to make me work harder, he’d joke that soon I’d be faster and stronger than him. He was a great motivator.”

Lizzie smiled and they headed into the kitchen. Gigi frowned when she saw the dirty Kitchen Aid bowl still soaking in the sink. “I’m feeling too lazy to clean that yet. I’ll just grab our hand mixer for the frosting.” 

“I can work on the dishes while you mix the frosting,” Lizzie volunteered. 

“Deal!” Gigi nodded. “I love baking, abhor cleaning. William often ends up doing the dishes for me after I bake. He can’t stand to have them sit overnight even if the maid is coming in the next morning.”

“Your brother does dishes?” Lizzie twisted to look at Gigi who was adding the cream cheese and butter to a bowl on the kitchen island. 

“He’s a bit of a neat freak,” Gigi commented. “I’m less obsessive-compulsive, or at least that’s what I tell him. Try not to hold it against him.” She started creaming the butter and cream cheese.

Lizzie was getting used to ignoring Gigi’s many pointed comments about her brother. It was better not to protest when she could feet her stomach flutter when Gigi hinted of a future with Lizzie and Darcy together. “We need music to work to,” Lizzie flicked on the small stereo and searched for a pop station. ‘Forget You’ was playing and she turned up the music over the sound of the mixer. She and Gigi sang loudly while Lizzie turned on the water and started scrubbing the dishes they had left after dinner and making the cake.

Gigi had added the powdered sugar, vanilla and milk by the time Lizzie had filled up the dishwasher and turned it on. “This is too runny,” Gigi complained as she stopped the mixer and looked at the frosting dripping from the blades. She plunged the mixer back in the bowl and filled a measuring cup with powdered sugar with her other hand to be ready to slowly add to the frosting mixture.

Lizzie rinsed and wrung out a dishcloth and walked towards the kitchen island to wipe down the side where they had eaten their pizza. As she walked towards Gigi, her foot got caught on the edge of the runner that was placed along the length of the counter. She started to fall, throwing the dishcloth in the air so her hands would be free to catch herself. Gigi saw the movement out of the corner of her eye and lunged to try and catch Lizzie, hauling the hand mixer out of the bowl with her and spewing the cup of powdered sugar across the edge of the island and over the floor. She was stopped in her tracks by the tension of the mixer’s power cord attached to the wall, the mixer still clutched in her hand. The mixer was still spinning, the blades laden with the soft, runny frosting and the frosting was disgorged all over the Gigi, Lizzie and the kitchen. 

Lizzie managed to catch herself lightly with her hands as she landed on the floor. The dishcloth fell harmlessly next to her. Gigi dropped the hand mixer on the island countertop, where it continued to spin, making a horrible grating noise as the blades scraped the countertop and expelled the remainder of the frosting until she pulled the plug from the wall. She wiped dripping frosting from her eyebrow as she scrambled to the floor to check on Lizzie. “Are you okay?” she asked, unable to see Lizzie’s face. The spilled powdered sugar was strewn across the floor and Gigi’s hands slipped in it as she dropped to her knees and reached for Lizzie.

Lizzie rolled over, coating her back and back of her head in the powdered sugar. When she saw Gigi’s concerned face with drips of frosting running down her cheeks, she burst into laughter. Gigi took one look at Lizzie’s contorted face with the splatters of frosting and dusting of powdered sugar in her hair and doubled up, clutching her stomach as she cackled. They laughed until they cried, fresh laughter erupting each time they tried to calm down and meet each other’s eyes. 

They finally were composed enough to get up and assess the damage. “Apparently,” Lizzie said, “It’s not only ‘Just Dance’ that I’m too uncoordinated to handle. Walking across a kitchen floor without falling is also above my aptitude.”

Gigi giggled. “I caused most of the mess though. I promise, I really was just trying to help.”

“I appreciate the chivalry in your gesture,” Lizzie nodded. “I think we’ll need lots of dishcloths to wipe all this down.”

Gigi and Lizzie attacked the kitchen, using the blasting music to keep up their pace. “I can’t believe how far that frosting was flung,” Gigi grumbled when she found more spots on the microwave several feet from the accident.

“This effing frosting is ridiculously sticky,” Lizzie complained as she scrubbed the floor next to the island for the third time. 

“Who knew we were such domestic goddesses?” Gigi crowed, looking around the gleaming kitchen after they had finished. “William will be impressed.”

“You are not going to tell your brother about this, are you?” Lizzie’s voice sounded horrified.

“I’ll make you a deal: I won’t tell him if you don’t give me too many salacious details once you two are sleeping together.” Gigi smirked. “He is my brother and I don’t want to have to spend time in therapy.”

Lizzie snorted and did not deign to answer.

After they made a new batch of frosting, Gigi frosted the cake while Lizzie frosted the cupcakes. “William loves these cupcakes,” Gigi commented, pretending not to notice when Lizzie’s hands froze. “He doesn’t eat junk food often, but he has a weakness for red velvet cake.” 

Gigi placed the cake in a beautiful crystal cake holder and dusted off her hands. “I’m going to change out of these dirty clothes. Would you like to borrow something so you can change too?”

Lizzie looked down at her frosting and sugar smudged clothes. “That would be great. How about some sweats and a t-shirt?”

Lizzie felt better after washing her face, brushing the sugar out of her hair (which required some rinsing in the back) and dressed in Gigi’s exercise clothes. Naturally, Gigi had loaned her designer athletic apparel. They were nothing like the discount sportswear Lizzie normally chose to sweat in, but she had to admit, far more flattering. She went back to the living room, where Gigi was leaning back in her pajamas and robe on the couch. “I hope you don’t mind, but I figured it was close enough to bedtime to just get ready,” Gigi said.

“Of course not,” Lizzie replied. She sat next to Gigi. “This has been really fun, Gigi. Although a tad messier than I envisioned when you asked me over.”

“Yeah, I’ve had a blast.” Gigi grinned. 

 

Darcy opened the front door and hung up his coat. He could hear Lizzie and Gigi talking in the distance, and the odor of freshly baked cake wafted from the kitchen. He entered the living room to find his sister and Lizzie deep in conversation about an upcoming Pemberley project. Gigi was in her pajamas and Lizzie looked all too captivating in blue form-fitting exercise clothes with her hair slightly damp and tousled. They both looked up when they noticed him.

“Hey William,” Gigi called. Lizzie smiled her greeting to him.

“Did you get the cake made for Kate?” he asked, trying not to stare too obviously at Lizzie. She looked so relaxed and comfortable in his home, it made his heart clench. He tried not to look too self-conscious as he walked over and sat on the loveseat perpendicular to the couch they were on.

“Yup!” Gigi answered. He wanted to hug her when she continued the conversation she and Lizzie were having and casually included him. They talked for almost an hour until Lizzie noticed Gigi yawn and checked the time on her cell phone. “It’s already 11:30!” she sounded surprised. “It’s a work night, I’d better go home and let you two go to bed.”

“Let me get my car keys,” Gigi started to stand up but Darcy stopped her. “You’re already in your pajamas. I’ll drive Lizzie home.” He turned to Lizzie. “If that is alright with you.”

“Sure,” Lizzie smiled. She hugged Gigi as she got up. “Thanks again. I’ll see you at work tomorrow.”

“And our tour of the city is Saturday.” Gigi reminded her with a big smile.

Lizzie shrugged on her coat, and stepped into her shoes. Darcy decided not to ask why she was wearing dress shoes with exercise clothes. Girl’s night privacy needed to be respected. Lizzie and Darcy walked out to his car. It had been drizzling earlier, and the air felt soft with droplets of water on his car sparkling in the lights from the buildings and street. Once in the passenger seat, Lizzie kicked off her shoes and curled her legs under herself, angling her body towards him. Darcy was relieved that driving gave his hands something to do. He’d found he had to keep his hands occupied when in close proximity to Lizzie or they would end up clenching the empty air futilely.

Lizzie leaned her head against the headrest and yawned. “I’m so glad tomorrow is Friday. It’s been a busy week.”

Darcy glanced over at her. “You look tired.” He could not keep the caring note out of his voice.

She stared back at him, her face half shadowed in the dark car. “So do you.” Darcy gripped the steering wheel tighter. Her voice sounded warmer than normal and there was a hint of something else he couldn’t read.

They were both quiet the rest of the drive. Darcy was afraid if he spoke he’d break the tenuous new companionship he felt growing between them. He parked in front of Lizzie’s place. “Thanks for the ride,” Lizzie turned to him as she unlatched her seat belt. “You’ve done an amazing job with Gigi. She’s great.”

Darcy felt discomforted, both pleased and embarrassed. “That’s to her credit, not mine.”

Lizzie looked at him. “Yes, but you had a lot to do with it. You had to be so much more than a brother to her.” There was a soft look in her eyes that looked almost tender. “Good-night, Darcy.” She opened the car door and quickly stepped outside, quickly walking up the path to the house. He remained staring at the door she had disappeared through for several minutes after she was inside.

 

Darcy opened the door of his condo. He knew it would be difficult for him to fall asleep soon. He walked slowly towards his bedroom. Gigi poked her head out of her room as he walked down the hall. “How was your time with Lizzie tonight?” he asked, pleased that his voice sounded normal.

Gigi smiled. “If you had only been trying to pick the best sister in the world for me, you could not have done better.” She turned back into her room. “Good-night, William.”

**Author's Note:**

> It is entirely my supposition that Darcy stayed longer at Netherfield than he had planned because of Lizzie.


End file.
